Exeter family files suit against Shaw's over allegedly tainted beef

Published: August 12, 2010

The estate and daughters of a 70-year-old Exeter woman who fell ill and died after eating some allegedly contaminated beef patties at a barbecue has filed a wrongful death suit against Shaw's Supermarket and those that supplied the meat, last week in federal District Court in Concord.The family of Carylon Black -- who ate the beef on Oct. 1, got sick two days later and was hospitalized the rest of the month before dying on Oct. 30, allegedly due to complications from E. coli infection -- filed the suit on Aug. 4 asking for unspecified damages.The day after Black died, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services announced the recall of approximately a half million pounds of fresh ground beef manufactured by Greater Omaha Packing Company Inc. and distributed by Fairbanks Farms between Sept. 14 and 16. mBoth Fairbanks and GOPAC are the other two defendants in the suit.Black bought the ground beef during the last week of September at either the Shaw's in Seabrook and Stratham, according to the suit.Black, a retired customer service representative from K-Mart, "endured significant conscious pain and suffering" before she died, according to the suit. Her eldest daughter, Lori Percourt, of Lynnfield, Mass., who administers the estate, and another daughte,r Diana Morrison, of North Oxford, Mass., are also plaintiffs in the law suit.Shaw's is being charged with product liability, breach of warranties, negligence, wrongful death and causing conscious pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.Robert Mozow, an attorney from Salem, Mass., who is representing the plaintiffs said he has been in contact with attorneys representing Fairbanks. He said he was not sure whether they were also representing Shaw's."We hope the defendants try to resolve this in an expeditious matter so the family can put the pain behind them," he said.A Shaw's spokeperson said he had not been aware of the suit, which NHBR forwarded to him. He did not return comments to NHBR by deadline. - BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW

This article appears in the July 30 2010 issue of New Hampshire Business Review